China has ramped up financial support to real economy, as indicated by social financing and loan data in February, according to experts.
Data released on Friday by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) show that at the end of February, the total social financing in China reached 417.29 trillion yuan (about 57.65 trillion U.S. dollars), marking an 8.2-percent increase year on year.
Experts said that the accelerated issuance of government bonds is the main driving force behind the rapid growth of social financing.
"Local governments have been gathering pace in issuing bonds. Among them, bonds which were issued under the debt-for-bond swap program stood at nearly 800 billion yuan, more than one-third of the total for the whole of last year, and more than 600 billion yuan higher than the amount issued in January this year," said Wen Bin, chief economist of China Minsheng Bank.
The rapid growth of net corporate bond financing also provides certain support to the aggregate financing to the real economy, according to relevant experts.
"Since the second half of last year, bond market interest rates have remained generally low. Companies have seized the opportunity to increase bond financing, effectively reducing overall financing costs," said Dong Ximiao, chief researcher of Merchants Union Consumer Finance.
At the end of February, according to the central bank, outstanding yuan loans amounted to 261.78 trillion yuan, up 7.3 percent year on year.
Notably, by the end of February, inclusive loans for small- and micro- businesses went up 12.4 percent to 33.43 trillion yuan, and medium-to-long-term loans for the manufacturing sector grew 10.3 percent to 14.48 trillion yuan, with both figures outpacing overall loan growth.
"Loan data in February show that loans remained at a historically high level, maintaining strong support for the real economy," said Dong.
China beefs up financial support to real economy: experts
Tiangong Ultra, an upgraded version of the China-made "Tiangong" humanoid robot, is currently undergoing tests in preparation for a half-marathon next month in Beijing.
The race, set for April 13 in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area in the capital city's southeast, will feature both robotic and human athletes competing on the same route but on separate tracks to ensure safety for all participants.
The competition is open to global robot companies, research institutes, robot clubs and universities. So far, 23 organizations have signed up for the competition.
Developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, Tiangong Ultra has a bigger size, longer legs, and a stronger hip compared to its old version. In addition, unlike Tiangong, which has two iron sheets as feet, Tiangong Ultra wears a pair of "shoes" to minimize impact on its feet and ankle joints from running, according to engineers at the center.
"Aside from upgrades to Tiangong's body and structure, we have also greatly improved its motion algorithm, strengthening its capabilities for gait planning, body coordination, and motion control," said Wei Jiaxing, director of branding and public relations at the center.
In a race between Tiangong and Tiangong Ultra, the upgraded version demonstrated larger strides, a more stable running form, and a significantly higher speed.
"Its highest speed can reach 12 kilometers per hour. Considering the stability and endurance of the Tiangong robot when running outdoors, we may slightly reduce the speed. But we are still very confident that it can complete the half marathon," Wei said.
Bolstered by strong capital investment, China' robotics industry is growing rapidly, with versatile applications becoming increasingly prominent across a wide range of fields, including industrial automation, healthcare and service industries.
According to a report on the humanoid robot industry released at the 2024 World AI Conference in Shanghai, China's humanoid robot market scale was approximately 2.76 billion yuan (about 381.28 million U.S. dollars) last year.
By 2029, it is expected to expand to 75 billion yuan (about 10.36 billion U.S. dollars), which would account for 32.7 percent of the global market.
Humanoid robot set to run Beijing half-marathon
